Shift lever apparatus and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A shift lever apparatus is provided and includes an operating part having fastening pins extracted therefrom and inserted thereinto, based on a signal input. A select lever part is coupled to a shift lever that rotates based on a shift pattern to rotate along with the shift lever. Additionally, the shift lever corresponds to a position of a shift stage based on the shift pattern and includes a plurality of insertion apertures into which the fastening pins are inserted. The fastening pins selectively permit or limit the rotation of the shift lever based on whether the fastening pins are inserted into the plurality of insertion apertures.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2015-0104567, filed on Jul. 23, 2015, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a shift lever apparatus capable ofpreventing a malfunction based on an operation of a shift lever, in apassive transmission vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a manual transmission is installed between a clutch and apropeller shaft to appropriately shift a driving force of an enginebased on a driving state of a vehicle. Further, a transmission lever isinstalled within the vehicle provided with a passive transmission toenable a driver to perform a shifting operation. The manual transmissionhas a structure in which the shift lever installed in the interior ofthe vehicle and the shifting operation mechanism installed at thetransmission are connected to each other by cables. As the driveroperates the transmission lever, the manual transmission operates ashift cable and a select cable, respectively, to operate the shiftingoperation mechanism, thereby performing the shifting operation.

However, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the existing manual transmission isconfigured to perform shifting from a first stage 10 and a second stage20 to a third stage 30 and a fourth stage 40 and then to a fifth stage50 and a sixth stage 60 when the shifting operation mechanism isoperated. For example, a select operation of direct shifting from thefirst stage 10 and the second stage 20 to the fifth stage 50 and thesixth 60 stage without passing through the third stage 30 and the fourthstage 40 may occur due to an excessive select operation.

In particular, when unreasonable shifting from a low speed stage to ahigh speed stage occurs due to the excessive operation of the shiftlever, a shifting malfunction may occur that inhibits the transmissionfrom performing the shifting internally. For example, when the shiftingsuddenly occurs, a rapid increase in an engine revolutions per minute(RPM) and a rapid decrease in a vehicle speed may occur and safety ofpassengers may be compromised.

The contents described as the related art have been provided merely forenhancement of the understanding for the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a shift lever apparatus and controlmethod thereof that sequentially performs shifting for a driver tostably operate a shift stage and prevents excessive shifting from a lowspeed stage to a high speed stage in a manual transmission.

An exemplary embodiment provides a shift lever apparatus, that mayinclude an operating part having fastening pins extracted (e.g., drawnout) therefrom and inserted (e.g., drawn in) thereinto, based on asignal input, and a select lever part coupled to a shift lever thatrotates based on a shift pattern along with the shift lever. Further,the select lever part may correspond to a position of a shift stage thatdepends on the shift pattern and may include a plurality of insertionapertures. The fastening pins may be inserted into the insertionapertures and may selectively permit or limit the rotation of the shiftlever based on whether the fastening pins are inserted into theplurality of insertion apertures.

In some exemplary embodiments, the insertion aperture of the selectlever part may include a first aperture that corresponds to a select(e.g., predetermined) position of a reverse stage (R stage), a secondaperture that corresponds to a select (e.g., predetermined) position ofa low speed stage among advance stages. Further a third aperture maycorrespond to a select (e.g., predetermined) position of an intermediatespeed stage, and a fourth aperture may correspond to a select (e.g.,predetermined) position of a high speed stage. In other exemplaryembodiments, the third aperture may extend to connect between (e.g.,contact or be coupled to) the select position of the low speed stage andthe select position of the intermediate speed stage and the fourthaperture may extend to connect between (e.g., contact or be coupled to)the select position of the intermediate speed stage and the selectposition of the high speed stage. [Please provide exemplary ranges forthe different speed stages.]

The second aperture and the fourth aperture may be formed on aconcentric circle that may have the same radius based on a rotatingcenter of the select lever part. The third aperture may be formed on aconcentric circle that may have a different radius from a position atwhich the second aperture and the fourth aperture are formed. The firstaperture may be formed on either the concentric circle on which thesecond aperture and the fourth aperture are positioned. Alternatively,the first aperture may be formed on the concentric circle at a positionof the third aperture.

In other exemplary embodiments, the first aperture may be formed tocorrespond to a select position of an R stage and the second aperturemay be formed to correspond to select positions of a first stage and asecond stage. Further, the third aperture may extend to connect betweenthe select positions of the first stage and the second stage and selectpositions of a third stage and a fourth stage. The fourth aperture mayextend to connect between the select positions of the third stage andthe fourth stage and select positions of a fifth stage and a sixthstage. In some exemplary embodiments, the fastening pin of the operatingpart may include a first pin that may be selectively inserted into thesecond aperture and the fourth aperture. Additionally, a second pin maybe selectively inserted into the third aperture and either the first pinor the second pin may be selectively inserted into the first aperture.

In another aspect, the shift lever apparatus may further include acontroller that may be configured to receive driving information of avehicle and execute the extraction (e.g., drawing out) operation of thefastening pin. The controller may be configured to adjust the extractionoperation of the fastening pin based on the driving conditions when theshift lever rotates to be shifted to alternative shift stages and mayselectively permit or limit the rotation of the shift lever. Thecontroller may further be configured to extract (e.g., draw out orremove) the first pin or the second pin of the operating part insertedinto the first aperture when the shift lever engages the R stage whenpositioned at the select position of the R stage.

The controller may be configured extract the first pin of the fasteningpin inserted into the second aperture when the shift lever engages thefirst stage in the state when positioned at the select positions of thefirst stage and the second stage which are the low speed stage. Thecontroller may further be configured to extract the second pin of thefastening pin inserted into the third aperture when the shift lever isshifted to the second stage. The controller may be further configured tomonitor (e.g., check) whether the driving stage of the vehicle is withinthe pre-stored second stage driving range. Additionally, the first pinof the fastening separated from the second aperture may be inserted whenthe driving state of the vehicle exceeds the second stage driving range.

Additionally, the controller may be configured to monitor (e.g., check)whether the driving state of the vehicle preforms within the pre-storedthird stage driving range when the shift lever engages the third stage.The third stage and fourth stage positions are the intermediate speedstages and may extract the second pin of the fastening pin inserted intothe third aperture when the driving state of the vehicle does not reachthe third stage driving state. The driving state of the vehicle may bewithin the third stage driving range or may exceed the third stagedriving range and the controller may be configured to extract the firstpin of the fastening pin inserted into the fourth aperture or maintainthe inserted state of the first pin.

When the shift lever is shifted to the fourth stage and the controllermay be configured to insert the first pin of the fastening pin into thefourth aperture and insert the second pin into the third aperture. Thecontroller may further be configured to monitor (e.g., check) whetherthe driving state of the vehicle remains within the pre-stored fourthstage driving range and insert the second pin of the fastening pinseparated from the third aperture when the driving state of the vehicleexceeds the fourth stage driving range.

The controller may be configured to adjust (e.g., control) the first pinand the second pin of the fastening pin inserted when the shift levermay be disposed at the select position in the fifth stage which is thehigh speed stage. The high speed stage may include the fifth stage andthe sixth stage and the insertion aperture of the select lever part mayfurther include a fifth aperture formed on the concentric circle havingthe same radius as the third aperture at the select position of the highspeed stage. The controller may be configured to extract the second pinof the fastening pin inserted into the fifth aperture when the shiftlever may engage the sixth stage and may be disposed at the selectpositions of the fifth stage and the sixth stage which are the highspeed stage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present disclosure will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram for describing the existing shiftingoperation mechanism according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a shift lever apparatus according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operating part of theshift lever apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a select lever part of theshift lever apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the select lever partillustrated in FIG. 4 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagrams for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 15 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operation of the shiftlever apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Advantages and features of the invention and methods of accomplishingthe same may be understood more readily by reference to the followingdetailed descriptions of exemplary embodiments and the accompanyingdrawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction withexemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description isnot intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. Onthe contrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similarterm as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such aspassenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses,trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety ofboats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles,electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-poweredvehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived fromresources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicleis a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example bothgasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. For example, in order to make the description of thepresent invention clear, unrelated parts are not shown and, thethicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Further,when it is stated that a layer is “on” another layer or substrate, thelayer may be directly on another layer or substrate or a third layer maybe disposed therebetween.

Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, theterm “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in theart, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” canbe understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%,0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear fromthe context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by theterm “about.”

Furthermore, control logic of the present invention may be embodied asnon-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable mediumcontaining executable program instructions executed by a processor,controller/control unit or the like. Examples of the computer readablemediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc(CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards andoptical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium canalso be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that thecomputer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion,e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a shift lever apparatus according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an exemplarydiagram illustrating an operating part of the shift lever apparatusillustrated in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating aselect lever part of the shift lever apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2,and FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating the select lever partillustrated in FIG. 4. FIGS. 6 to 15 are exemplary diagrams fordescribing an operation of the shift lever apparatus according to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shift lever apparatus according tothe exemplary embodiment may include an operating part 100 havingfastening pins 120 extracted therefrom and inserted thereinto, based ona signal input. A select lever part 200 may be coupled to a shift leverL that may rotate based on a shift pattern along with the shift lever Land corresponds to a position of a shift stage based on the shiftpattern. The select lever part 200 may include a plurality of insertionapertures 220 into which the fastening pins 120 may be inserted toselectively permit or limit the rotation of the shift lever L based onwhether the fastening pins 120 are inserted into the plurality ofinsertion apertures 220. An expression of “the shift pattern” indicatesa shift order of an R stage, and a first stage to sixth stages as shownin FIG. 1.

In this configuration, the operating part 100 may be fixedly installedin a base bracket B and may be configured of solenoids that fasteningpins 120 are extracted or inserted based on whether an electric signalmay be applied to the operating part 100 and may be configured to beadjusted by a controller 300 as described in detail below. Inparticular, the select lever part 200 may be coupled with the shiftlever L and may rotate based on the shift pattern and rotates along withthe shift lever L. The select lever part 200 may be rotatably installedwithin a base bracket B and may be coupled to a cable of thetransmission to transfer a shifting operation based on the rotation ofthe shift lever L to the transmission. The select lever part 200 includethe plurality of insertion apertures 220 into which the fastening pins120 may be inserted to selectively limit the rotation based on whetherthe fastening pins 120 are inserted into the plurality of insertionapertures 220. As a result, the operation of the shift lever L may bepermitted in the state when the fastening pins 120 are not inserted intothe insertion apertures 220. The fastening pins 120 may be inserted intothe insertion apertures 220, and the rotation of the select lever part200 may be limited to limit the operation of the shift lever L.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the insertion aperture 220 of the select leverpart 200 may include a first aperture 221 formed to correspond to aselect position of a reverse stage and a second aperture 223 formed tocorrespond to a select position of a low speed stage among advancestages. A third aperture 225 may be formed to correspond to a selectposition of an intermediate speed stage, and a fourth aperture 227 maybe formed to correspond to a select position of a high speed stage. Forexample, the insertion aperture 220 formed in the select lever part 200may include the first aperture 221, the second aperture 223, the thirdaperture 225, and the fourth aperture 227 that corresponds to each shiftstage and forms the shift pattern. Further, each aperture may be formedby being divided into a low speed stage, a high speed stage, and areverse stage.

In other words, the first aperture 222 may be formed to correspond to aselect position of an R stage. The second aperture 223 may be formed tocorrespond to select positions of a first stage 10 and a second stage 20that form the low speed stage. The third aperture 225 may be formed tocorrespond to select positions of a third stage 30 and a fourth stage 40that form the intermediate speed stage. The fourth aperture 227 may beformed to correspond to select positions of a fifth stage 50 and a sixthstage 60 that form the high speed stage.

Moreover, the select position of the low speed stage and the selectposition of the intermediate speed stage or the select position of theintermediate speed stage and the select position of the high speed stagemay be divided and the shifting may be performed more smoothly. For thispurpose, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the third aperture 225 may extend tobe coupled between the select position of the low speed stage and theselect position of the intermediate speed stage. The fourth aperture 227may extend to be coupled between the select position of the intermediatespeed stage and the select position of the high speed stage.Accordingly, the third aperture 225 may be formed with a long aperturethat extends to connect the select position of the low speed stage andthe select position of the intermediate speed stage. The shift lever Lmay move (e.g., be displaced) from the low speed stage to theintermediate speed stage even though the fastening pin 120 may beinserted into the third aperture 225. The fourth aperture 227 may beformed with a long aperture extending between and coupled to the selectposition of the intermediate speed stage and the select position of thehigh speed stage, such that the shift lever L may move (e.g., bedisplaced) from the intermediate speed stage to the high speed stageeven though the fastening pin 120 is inserted into the fourth aperture227.

In other words, within the insertion aperture 220 of the select leverpart 200 as described above, the first aperture 221 may be formed tocorrespond to the select position of the R stage, the second aperture223 may be formed to correspond to the select positions of the firststage 10 and the second stage 20, the third aperture 225 may extendbetween and be coupled to the select positions of the first stage 10 andthe second stage 20 and the select positions of the third stage 30 andthe fourth stage 40, and the fourth aperture 227 may extend between andbe coupled to the select positions of the third stage 30 and the fourthstage 40 and the select positions of the fifth stage 50 and the sixthstage 60. By this configuration, the shift lever may be moved from aposition of a specific shift stage to another shift stage, thesequential shifting may depend on the shift stage and may be performedby extracting or inserting the fastening pin 120 by an instruction ofthe controller 300 to be described in detail below. The extraction orinsertion control of the fastening pin 120 may be based on the rotationof the select lever part 200 during the operation of the shift lever L.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the second aperture 223 and thefourth aperture 227 may be formed on a concentric circle a having thesame radius based on a rotating center c of the select lever part 200.Further, the third aperture 225 may be formed on a concentric circle bhaving a different radius from a position at which the second aperture223 and the fourth aperture 227 are formed. The first aperture 221 maybe formed on either the concentric circle a on which the second aperture223 and the fourth aperture 227 are positioned or the concentric circleb at a position at which the third aperture 225 is positioned.

Additionally, the second aperture 223, the fourth aperture 227, and thethird aperture 225 may be formed on the concentric circles havingdifferent radii, to equally move the positions of the second aperture223, the third aperture 225, and the fourth aperture 227 as the selectlever part 200 rotates by rotating operation of the shift lever L. Inparticular, the third aperture 225 may extend to connect between theselect position of the low speed stage and the select position of theintermediate speed stage and the fourth aperture 227 may extend toconnect between the select position of the intermediate speed stage andthe select position of the high speed stage. The third aperture 225 andthe fourth aperture 227 may be formed on the concentric circle havingdifferent radii. The third aperture 225 and the fourth aperture 227 maybe positioned to correspond to each other based on the select positionof the intermediate speed stage. In this configuration, the shift leverL may move smoothly from the select position of the intermediate speedstage to the select position of the low speed stage or the selectposition of the high speed stage.

The first aperture 221 may be formed on either the concentric circle aon which the second aperture 223 and the fourth aperture 227 are formedor the concentric circle b where the third aperture 225 is formed, basedon the shift pattern. In other words, when the shift lever L operates inan upward vertical direction based on the shift pattern to be shifted tothe R stage, the first aperture 221 is formed on the concentric circle aon which the second aperture 223 and the fourth aperture 227 are formed.When the shift lever L operates in a downward vertical direction basedon the shift pattern to be shifted to the R stage, the first aperture221 is formed on the concentric circle b on which the third aperture 225may be formed.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the fastening pin 120 of theoperating part 100 may include the first pin 122 selectively insertedinto the second aperture 223 and the fourth aperture 227 and the secondpin 124 selectively inserted into the third aperture 225. As describedabove, the second aperture 223, the fourth aperture 227, and the thirdaperture 225 may be formed on the concentric circle having different(e.g., varying) radii. Additionally, the fastening pin 120 of theoperating part 100 may be divided into the first pin 122 that may beinserted into the second aperture 223 and the fourth aperture 227 andthe second pin 124 that may be inserted into the third aperture 225.Accordingly, the fastening pin 120 may be divided into the first pin 122and the second pin 124 and may be sequentially inserted into or removed(e.g., separated) from the second aperture 223, the third aperture 225,and the fourth aperture 226, to sequentially displace the shift lever Lmay be sequentially displaced (e.g., move). For example, either thefirst pin 112 or the second pin 124 may be selectively inserted into thefirst aperture 221. As described above, the position of the firstaperture 221 may be adjusted (e.g., set differently) based on the shiftpattern, to allow the first pin 122 or the second pin 124 to be insertedbased on the formation position of the first aperture 221.

Furthermore, the insertion aperture 220 disposed within the select leverpart 200 may be formed to contact a shift stage based on the shiftpattern. Additionally, the controller 300 may be configured to executeinsertion or extraction of the fastening pin 120 of the operating part100 to contact the movement of the shift lever, thereby performing thesequential shifting during the operation of the shift lever L. Inparticular, as illustrated in FIG. 6, as shown in an exemplaryembodiment, the select position of the reverse stage may be separatelypositioned and the select positions of the first stage 10 and the secondstage 20, the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40, and the fifthstage 50 and the sixth stage 60 may be divided.

In other words, the exemplary embodiment may further include thecontroller 300 that may be configured to receive driving information ofa vehicle and execute the extraction operation of the fastening pin 120.The controller 300 may be configured to execute the extraction operationof the fastening pin 120 based on driving conditions when the shiftlever L rotates to be shifted to alternate (e.g., other) shift stages,thereby selectively permitting or limiting the rotation of the shiftlever L. The driving information of the vehicle input to the controller300 may be an engine revolutions per minute (e.g., RPM) of a vehicle andmay be configured to execute the shift lever L receiving additionalinformation related to a driving speed and an engine output.

For example, the controller 300 may be configured to permit or limitedthe operating part 100 to rotate the select lever part 200. Thecontroller 300 may be configured to extract the first pin 122 or thesecond pin 124 of the operating part 100 inserted into the firstaperture 221 when the shift lever L is disposed in the R stage. In otherwords, when the shift lever L is positioned in the R stage, the vehiclemay be driven reversely and the shifting to alternate shift stages(e.g., which are an advance stage) may be limited. As illustrated inFIG. 7, the controller 300 may be configured to extract the first pin122 or the second pin 124 of the operating part 100 and may be insertedinto the first aperture 221 to limit the rotation of the select leverpart 200. Further, the rotation of the shift lever L may be limited,such that the shifting to alternate shift stages may not be performedwhen the shift lever engages the R stage.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the controller 300 may be configured toextract the first pin 122 of the fastening pin 120 to be inserted intothe second aperture 223 when the shift lever L is shifted to the firststage 10 when positioned at the select positions of the first stage 10and the second stage 20 which are the low speed stage. In other words,the controller 300 may be configured to extract the first pin 122 of thefastening pin to be inserted into the second aperture 223 when the shiftlever translates (e.g., moves) to be disposed within the first stage 10to limit the rotation of the select lever part 200, which may therebylimit the operation of the shift lever L to alternate shift stages.Accordingly, the shifting to the shift stage of the second stage 20 maybe permitted when the shift lever L is shifted to the first stage, toinclude the sequential shifting may be induced.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the controller 300 may be configured toextract the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 120 inserted into thethird aperture 225 when the shift lever L is disposed within the secondstage 20. Further, the controller 300 may be configured to monitor thedriving state of the vehicle to determine when the driving state fallswithin the pre-stored second stage driving range. In addition, when thedriving state of the vehicle exceeds the second stage driving range thefirst pin 122 of the fastening pin 120 separated from the secondaperture 223 may be extracted. In other words, when the shift lever Lengages the second stage 20, the second pin 124 of the fastening pin maybe extracted to be inserted into the third aperture 225. Accordingly,the shifting prepares to transition to the next shift stage which may bethe third stage 30. In particular, to determine whether the drivingstate of the vehicle is shifted to the next shift stage, the drivingstate of the vehicle may compared with the pre-stored second stagedriving range.

Therefore, the controller 300 may be configured to extract the secondpin 124 of the fastening pin 120 inserted into the third aperture 225when the driving state of the vehicle falls within the second stagedriving stage. Accordingly, the state in which the first pin 122 isinserted into the second aperture 223 and the second pin 124 is insertedinto the third aperture 225 may be maintained. For example, when thedriving state of the vehicle exceeds the second stage driving range, asillustrated in FIG. 10, the first pin 122 of the fastening pin 120 maybe separated from the second aperture 233 to move the shift lever L tothe third stage 30.

However, the third aperture extends to be formed in a long aperture andmay be coupled between the select positions of the first stage 10 andthe second stage 20 which are the low speed stage and the selectpositions of the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40. The shift leverL may be displaced (e.g., move, translate) from the select positions ofthe first stage 10 and the second stage 20 to the select positions ofthe third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40. Additionally, the shiftlever L may be disposed (e.g., move, positioned etc.) to the selectpositions of the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40 while beingcoupled to (e.g., locked, maintaining a fixed position) to the secondpin 124 of the fastening pin 120, thereby preventing the excessiveshifting to the high speed stages, the fifth stage 50 and the sixthstage 60.

Moreover, the controller 300 may be configured to monitor whether thedriving state of the vehicle falls within the pre-stored third stagedriving range when the shift lever L engages the third stage 30 when theselect positions of the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40 are theintermediate speed stage. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the controller maybe configured to extract the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 120inserted into the third aperture 225 when the driving state of thevehicle does not satisfy the conditions required to engage the thirdstage driving range.

As the shifting from the select positions of the first stage 10 and thesecond stage 20 which are a previous shift stage to the select positionsof the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40 may be permitted, thesecond pin 124 of the fastening pin 120 may be inserted into the thirdaperture 225 and may be maintained. However, when the driving state ofthe vehicle does satisfy the pre-stored third stage driving range, thesecond pin 124 of the fastening pin 120 inserted within the thirdaperture 225 may be maintained to move the shift lever L to the previousshift stage.

The driving state of the vehicle may be disposed within the third stagedriving range or may exceed the third stage driving range and thecontroller 300 may be configured to extract the first pin 122 of thefastening pin 120 inserted into the fourth aperture 227 or maintain theinserted state of the first pin 122. In other words, the first pin 122may be inserted into the fourth aperture 227 when the second pin 124 ofthe fastening pin 120 inserted into the third aperture 225. The thirdaperture 225 and the fourth aperture 227 extend in different (e.g.,alternate) directions based on the select positions of the intermediatespeed stage and therefore at the select position of the intermediatespeed stage, the second pin 124 may be inserted into the third aperture225 and the first pin 122 may be inserted into the fourth aperture 227to limit the rotation of the select lever part 200. Additionally, themovement of the shift lever L to the select position of the low speedstage or the select position of the high speed stage speed stage may belimited. However, the movement to the select position of theintermediate speed stage may remain uninhibited.

Particularly, when the driving state of the vehicle is within the thirdstage driving range, the first pin 122 of the fastening pin 12 may beinserted into the fourth aperture 227 so that the vehicle may be drivenat the shift stage meeting the current vehicle driving condition.Accordingly, the movement of the shift lever L to the select position ofthe low speed stage or the select position of the high speed stage maybe limited. Further, when the driving state of the vehicle exceeds thethird stage driving range, the shifting to next shift stage,specifically the fourth stage 40 may be performed by moving the shiftposition of the shift lever L without a selection. However, the movementof the shift lever L to the select position of the low speed stage orthe select position of the high speed stage may be limited, and therebypreventing the excessive shifting.

As shown in another exemplary embodiment, the shift lever L may beshifted to the fourth stage and in advance the second pin 124 may beinserted into the third aperture 225. Accordingly, the shifting to thehigh speed stages such as shift stages of the fifth stage 50 and thesixth stage may be limited. However, even though the vehicle may bedriven while the shift lever engages the fourth stage, the insertedstate of the first pin 122 may be maintained. The shifting to the firststage 10 or the second stage 20 may be performed based on the drivingsituation, thereby actively responding to the driving condition.

When the shift lever L is shifted (e.g., positioned within) to thefourth stage 40, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the controller 300 may beconfigured to insert the first pin 122 of the fastening pin 120 into thefourth aperture 227 and insert the second pin 124 into the thirdaperture 225. In addition, the controller may be configured to monitorwhether the driving state of the vehicle falls within the pre-storedfourth stage driving range and insert the second pin 124 of thefastening pin 120 to be separated from the third aperture 225 when thedriving state of the vehicle exceeds the fourth stage driving range. Inother words, the first pin 122 of the fastening pin 120 may be insertedinto the fourth aperture 227 and the second pin 124 may be inserted intothe third aperture 225 when the shift lever L engages the fourth stage40 to limit the rotation of the select lever part 200 and when thedriving state of the vehicle exceeds the fourth stage driving range.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 120may be separated from the third aperture to move the shift lever maymove to the fifth stage 50, which is the next shift stage.

However, the fourth aperture 227 may extend to be formed within a longaperture to be coupled (e.g., connect) between the select positions ofthe intermediate speed stage such as the third stage 30 and the fourthstage 40 and the high speed stage such as the select position of thefifth stage 50. The shift lever L may be operated to move from theselect positions of the third stage 30 and the fourth stage 40 to theselect position of the fifth stage 50. Accordingly, the first pin 122 ofthe fastening pin 120 may move to the select position of the fifth stage50, and may thereby prevent the shift lever L from moving to the selectposition of the low speed stage due to the malfunction.

In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 300 may be configured toinsert the first pin 122 and the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 82when the shift lever L engages the fifth stage 50 and when the shiftlever L engages the high speed stage at the select position of the fifthstage 50. For example, when the shift lever L engages to the fifth stage50, the shift lever L may be positioned at the select position of thehigh speed stage in advance, and may thereby prevent an excessive shiftoperation. Therefore, the controller 300 may be configured to terminatethe power supply applied to the operating part 100 to draw in the firstpin 122 and the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 120, and may therebyprevent unnecessary power consumption.

The high speed stage may include the fifth stage 50 and the sixth stage60. The insertion aperture 220 of the select lever part 200 may furtherinclude a fifth aperture formed on the concentric circle b having theabout the same radius as the third aperture 225 at the select positionof the high speed stage. Therefore, the controller 300 may be configuredto extract the second pin 124 of the fastening pin 120 inserted into thefifth aperture as illustrated in FIG. 15. The shift lever L engages tothe sixth stage 60 during the high speed stage when and may position theshift lever L at the select positions of the fifth stage 50 and thesixth stage 60, thereby limiting the shifting from the sixth stage. Theshift lever L apparatus may perform the same control functions bychanging the position of the first aperture 221 for various shiftpatterns. Furthermore, the shift lever L apparatus may perform thesequential shifting by changing the detailed forming position of theinsertion aperture 220 formed within the select lever part 200 based onthe shift pattern and controlling the solenoid.

As described above, the present invention sequentially performs theshifting in consideration of the driving state of the vehicle at thetime of the operation of the shift lever L. Accordingly, the driver mayoperate the shift stage more stably without improperly using the shiftstage. In particular, an exemplary embodiment, prevents excessiveshifting from the low speed stage to the high speed stage from startingoff due to the shifting malfunction and prevents engine components frombeing damaged due to the overload of the transmission and the engine.

According to the shift lever apparatus having the above-mentionedstructure, may prevention of starting off due to the shiftingmalfunction and may prevent engine components from being damaged due tothe overload of the transmission and the engine. For example the shiftlever apparatus may prevent excessive shifting from the low speed stageto the high speed stage within the manual transmission. Further, thedriver may be able to stably operate the shift stage without erroneouslyoperating the shift stage by sequentially performing the shiftingoperation.

Specific structural and functional descriptions will be provided only inorder to describe various exemplary embodiments of the present inventiondisclosed in the present specification or disclosure. Therefore,exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be implemented invarious forms, and the present invention is not to be interpreted asbeing limited to exemplary embodiments described in the presentspecification or disclosure.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respectto what is presently considered to be exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplaryembodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangement without departing from thespirit and scope of as disclose din the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shift lever apparatus, comprising: an operatingpart having fastening pins extracted therefrom and inserted thereinto,based on a signal input; and a select lever part coupled to a shiftlever that rotates based on a shift pattern to rotate along with theshift lever and to correspond to a position of a shift stage based onthe shift pattern, wherein the select lever part includes a plurality ofinsertion apertures into which the fastening pins are inserted in orderto selectively permit or limit the rotation of the shift lever based onwhether the fastening pins are inserted into the plurality of insertionapertures.
 2. The shift lever apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinsertion apertures of the select lever part includes a first apertureformed to correspond to a select position of a reverse stage, a secondaperture formed to correspond to a select position of a low speed stageamong advance stages, a third aperture formed to correspond to a selectposition of an intermediate speed stage, and a fourth aperture formed tocorrespond to a select position of a high speed stage.
 3. The shiftlever apparatus of claim 2, wherein the third aperture extends toconnect between the select position of the low speed stage and theselect position of the intermediate speed stage and the fourth apertureextends to connect between the select position of the intermediate speedstage and the select position of the high speed stage.
 4. The shiftlever apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second aperture and the fourthaperture are formed on a concentric circle having the same radius basedon a rotating center of the select lever part, the third aperture isformed on a concentric circle having a different radius from a positionat which the second aperture and the fourth aperture are formed, and thefirst aperture is formed on either the concentric circle on which thesecond aperture and the fourth aperture are positioned or the concentriccircle at a position at which the third aperture is positioned.
 5. Theshift lever apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first aperture is formedto correspond to a select position of a reverse stage, the secondaperture is formed to correspond to select positions of a first stageand a second stage, the third aperture extends to connect between theselect positions of the first stage and the second stage and selectpositions of a third stage and a fourth stage, and the fourth apertureextends to connect between the select positions of the third stage andthe fourth stage and select positions of a fifth stage and a sixthstage.
 6. The shift lever apparatus of claim 5, wherein the fasteningpin of the operating part includes: a first pin selectively insertedinto the second aperture and the fourth aperture; and a second pinselectively inserted into the third aperture, wherein either the firstpin or the second pin is selectively inserted into the first aperture.7. The shift lever apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: acontroller configured to receive driving information of a vehicle andexecutes the extraction operation of the fastening pin, wherein thecontroller is configured to extract the fastening pin based on drivingconditions when the shift lever rotates to be shifted to other shiftstages to selectively permit or limit the rotation of the shift lever.8. The shift lever apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller isconfigured to extract the first pin or the second pin of the operatingpart inserted into the first aperture when the shift lever engages tothe reverse stage when the shift lever is positioned at the selectposition of the reverse stage.
 9. The shift lever apparatus of claim 7,wherein the controller is configured to extract the first pin of thefastening pin inserted into the second aperture when the shift leverengages to the first stage when positioned at the select positions ofthe first stage and the second stage.
 10. The shift lever apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the controller is configured to extract the second pinof the fastening pin inserted into the third aperture when the shiftlever engages to the second stage and monitors whether the driving stageof the vehicle is within the pre-stored second stage driving range andinsert the first pin of the fastening pin separated from the secondaperture when the driving state of the vehicle exceeds the second stagedriving range.
 11. The shift lever apparatus of claim 7, wherein thecontroller is configured to monitor whether the driving state of thevehicle is within the pre-stored third stage driving range when theshift lever engages to the third stage when positioned at the selectpositions of the third stage and the fourth stage and extract the secondpin of the fastening pin inserted into the third aperture when thedriving state of the vehicle does not reach the third stage drivingstate.
 12. The shift lever apparatus of claim 11, wherein when thedriving state of the vehicle is within the third stage driving range orexceeds the third stage driving range, the controller is configured toextract the first pin of the fastening pin inserted into the fourthaperture or maintains the inserted state of the first pin.
 13. The shiftlever apparatus of claim 12, wherein when the shift lever engages thefourth stage, the controller is configured to insert the first pin ofthe fastening pin into the fourth aperture and insert the second pininto the third aperture and monitor whether the driving state of thevehicle is within the pre-stored fourth stage driving range and insertthe second pin of the fastening pin separated from the third aperturewhen the driving state of the vehicle exceeds the fourth stage drivingrange.
 14. The shift lever apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controlleris configured to insert the first pin and the second pin of thefastening pin when the shift lever engages the fifth stage when theshift lever is positioned at the select position of the fifth stage. 15.The shift lever apparatus of claim 7, wherein the high speed stageincludes the fifth stage and the sixth stage and the insertion apertureof the select lever part further includes a fifth aperture formed on theconcentric circle having the same radius as the third aperture at theselect position of the high speed stage, and the controller isconfigured to extract the second pin of the fastening pin to be insertedinto the fifth aperture when the shift lever engages the sixth stagewhen positioned at the select positions of the fifth stage and the sixthstage which are the high speed stage.
 16. A method of operating a shiftlever apparatus, comprising: inserting and extracting fastening pinsthereinto and therefrom an operating part, based on a signal input;rotating a select lever part coupled to a shift lever based on a shiftpattern along with the shift lever that corresponds to a position of ashift stage based on the shift pattern; and inserting the fastening pinswithin a plurality of insertion apertures to selectively permit or limitthe rotation of the shift lever.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein theinsertion apertures of the select lever part includes a first apertureformed to correspond to a select position of a reverse stage, a secondaperture formed to correspond to a select position of a low speed stageamong advance stages, a third aperture formed to correspond to a selectposition of an intermediate speed stage, and a fourth aperture formed tocorrespond to a select position of a high speed stage.
 18. The method ofclaim 17 further comprising: inserting a first pin into the secondaperture and the fourth aperture; and inserting a second pin into thethird aperture, wherein either the first pin or the second pin isselectively inserted into the first aperture.